Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Volume 22
Issue 5 January
Article 6
Winter 1932
Abstract of the Wickersham Police Report
August Vollmer
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August Vollmer, Abstract of the Wickersham Police Report, 22 Am. Inst. Crim. L. & Criminology 716 (1931-1932)
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ABSTRACT OF TEE "WICKERSIAM " POLICE
REPORT
AUGUST
VOLLMER
The original purpose of the police organization was difficult, but
superimposed upon its difficulties are the modern problems of Traffic
and Vice. Every other line of human endeavor is simple when placed
alongside the problem which is now presented to Police Departments
f or solution.
Executive capacity of the highest degree should be demanded
and universities should vie with each other in turning out from their
institutions men adequately trained to serve their country as efficient
police leaders. Fosdick, in "American Police Systems," says that
"The irrational development of American police organization is due
to inadequate leadership. To the lack of trained and intelligent administrators, obtaining and holding office on favorable conditions,
much of the confusion and maladjustment of our police machinery
is ascribable." Legislative bodies have heaped upon the police innumerable regulatory and inhibitory measures. Many of these are
ill-advised and absolutely unenforceable. Quite aside from their
unenforceability is the hostile attitude of the public, not only toward
these regulations, but also toward the police.
More automobiles mean more complications to the crime and
vice problems. New and dangerous types of crimes, new methods
used in approach and escape from the scenes of their crimes, all add
to the duties confronting police executives. To become a police
expert, such as the head of a large police organization ought to be.
takes several years. It takes the police commissioner the entire term
of office to learn the details of the business and then when he is an
expert he is turned out of office.
Improper recruiting methods over which the executive has no
control impose insuperable personnel problems which keep the executive busy trying to run a department smoothly and effectively with
incompetent, dishonest subordinates. Students of police problems
know that police never have and probably never will be able to prevent prostitution, gambling and bootlegging by repressive methods
alone. Honest enforcement of law is possible, but even with honest
enforcement the truth must be recognized that the absolute repression
of vice and its multiplicity of forms is beyond the power of law
enforcement officials. Even attempts to enforce traffic regulations
POLICE REPORT
717
were found useless until the great majority of people believed in and
,supported the traffic regulations.
Under the most favorable circumstances the position of the chief
police executive of any city is an unhappy one. A combined attack
may be made upon the administration and the chief of police ousted
for no other reason than that he tried to do his sworn duty.
Crime is better organized and better financed than in the preVolstead days. Racketeers may be found in every city, operating
successfully by intimidating business men and labor unions. Crime
is big business and requires police executives of unusual ability
to prevent it from destroying governmental foundations.
To win the support of subordinates police executives must know
the police business and must have had long experience in the varidus
branches of service, otherwise he is doomed to failure. Moreover,
no subordinate can do his best if he is removed from one station
and placed in another without reason or explanation. There are
occasions when transfer is necessary, but huge shake-ups and transfers from one station. to another break the spirit of the grotips that
are moved about and they soon develop an attitude of indifference.
Without knowledge concerning evildoers, their friends, relatives
and haunts, the executive will be grossly deceived and will find himself in the embarrassing position of giving aid and comfort to the
anti-social, favoring legislation designed to give thlem protection or
recommending grants of licenses and privileges which will be utilized
for continuing illegal business. An acquaintance with that large group
of solid citizens who believe in law and order is also helpful. Information concerning the honesty and ability of the citizens can only
be acquired through long service and many experiences. The executive also must know not only personalities whose activities may
complicate his problems, but must be aware that in his city different
sections require individual and intensive study for the reason that
no two sections of a community are exactly alike.
Where the policy of the police department alters with each change
of administration foreigners and new-comers never know what to
expect and soon lose respect for law and the law enforcement officials. Police morale is built on a foundation of honest, intelligent
and continuous leadership. No factor has contributed so greatly to
police demoralization as has the practice of limiting the tenure of
executives. Not until the practice is discontinued can we hope to
make material progress in police procedure. Regardless of ability,
the department head.cannot hope to make an impression upon a large
police department in the brief period that he is permitted to serve
718
AUGUST VOLLMER
in this country. It takes an executive years to become acquainted
with the problems of crime, vice and traffic, to say nothing of the
political, social and economic problems of the city he serves. Years
of experience in police affairs are required to save the police executive
from being hoodwinked by the crooks in the department, and the
qualifications and honesty of persons who comprise the force can
never be ascertained in the short tenure usually allotted police heads.
Intimate and sympathetic understanding of the men by a leader distinguishes the effective from the ineffective department, promotes
morale in the organization and can only be fully achieved where
there is a continuity of leadership. Stabilization is possible when the
executive's plans, purposes and policies are carried out over an extended period. Turmoil follows changes of department, heads and
there is always loss in police efficiency. Members of the force are
mentally upset because they know that as a result of past experiences
something is sure to happen. The general rule followed by most
new executives is to discard everything that their predecessor instituted and cast in the wastepile along with other buried experiments, the result of his labors. If we could gaze into the future
and there view the evils that follow in the wake of continued changes
in police leadership it is doubtful if the taxpayers would accept the
situation so complacently.
Communities which are able to see beyond their petty local politics and retain in office competent executives are least likely to be
attacked by professional crooks. Criminals and underworld characters know that police leadership turnover works to their advantage.
They leave nothing undone to encourage and make possible frequent
changes. With the removal of police executives police departments
always pass through some form of upheaval and when this occurs
the members of the department are more concerned with interior
strife and politics than with the effects of criminal depredations.
A deplorable situation exists in America as a result of the constant changes that have been made in police heads. No matter which
way he turns, the police executive is doomed because the political
system fails to protect and give security in office to honest, competent and courageous men. No factor is more certain to make the
police department the plaything of crooked politicians than the American practice of appointing police executives for a short period without
security of tenure. What does it matter if the rest of the force is
protected by civil service provisions if their leader is the tool of
political crooks?
A law enforcement program requires time and a well developed
POLICE REPORT
719
plan which must be conducted piece-meal. With the force at his
command, it is utterly impossible for any police executive in this
country to completely eliminate vice and crime or even reduce the
amount of vice and crime to an appreciable extent during the average
term of a police executive.
The theory that the mayor, representing the people, will exercise wisdom in conducting the business of the city and,
being directly responsible to the electors, will do his utmost to protect the lives and property of inhabitants, has been badly shattered,
judging by the caliber of the police service which is to be found in
the majority of communities. Failure to surround the department
head with appropriate protection has made him subject to or obedient
to the militant and active political minority. Seeking to avoid repression and to preserve democratic ideals, the people have virtually
turned over their police departments to the most notorious and frequently the most dangerous persons in their cities.
A study of cities with a population of 10;000 or over reveals
the fact that the average tenure of office for police heads is between
four and five years. The average tenure of office for police heads in
cities of 500,000 population or over is a fraction over two years.
With security of tenure, with intelligence, with training, with
honesty and with sincerity of purpose, the criminal element can be
controlled. Without these virtues and with political control as it now
exists, police departments must continue to be unorganized, inefficient and corrupt.
Personnel.
Proper qualifications, careful selection, scientific training, thorough police schooling, singly or together, seem total strangers in the
majority of our departments. Carefully selected police personnel
is the foundation upon which successful police administration is constructed. When a department fails to function properly the cause
frequently is found in its low entrance standards or inferior and improper selective methods. Because of the enormity of the task
of policing a community it is necessary to emphasize the fact that
the best human material in the country is none too good for police
service. Former Commissioner Woods said--"The wise policeman is
the guide, philosopher and friend of all those who come to him, and
this is particularly true where the foreign element in so many thousands of our communities is totally unacquainted with the characteristics of present-day civilization."
Every policeman must be mentally, morally, physically and -6ducationally sound, for the dignity of the profession demands that a
/Z0
AUGUST VOLLMER
man possess the qualifications of a superior degree. As a first step
in any plan to ameliorate conditions we should aim to keep out
rather than weed out of the service undesirable persons. The great
majority of police are not suited either by temperament, training or
education for their position. From several studies that were made
it was revealed that more than 60% of the present police personnel
never entered high school. That the state of their intelligence is in
accord with their educational accomplishments is certain after we have
considered the results of the Army Alpha Test given to large groups
of policemen. Mr. Amsden, Civil Service Examiner of Los Angeles,
made this significant remark-"It is possible to score 212 points on
the Army Alpha Test and we know from experience that unless a
candidate can make a score of 120 in any of the Alpha Tests it is
useless to appoint him as a patrolman." Accepting the standard established by the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission as the lowest
standard compatible with good police service, we are forced to recognize the fact that over 75% of the members of the police force
of this country are not mentally endowed to perform the duties assigned.
The necessity of providing police recruits with formal instruction in the nature of police duties and the manner of their performance
is no longer a controversial subject. The policeman is no longer
merely the suppressor of crime, but the social worker of the community as well. This fact, combined with the scientific methods
utilized by the modern criminal, makes imperative a type of training which the police manual and walking a beat does not and cannot
give to the recruit.
Of all the schools in America, New York has the most elaborate. The general purpose of the course is described in the syllabus:
(1) To test and develop the mental capacity: (2) instill the standards, ideals, ambitions,, usages, and customs of the organization: (3)
give a clear understanding of the penal law and the code of ordinances as well as a comprehensive grasp of the laws of arrests; (4)
acquaint the recruit with court procedure and the laws of evidence.
The plan embraces four separate courses: (1) Recruit training;
(2) physical instruction; (3) firearms; (4) first aid.
Obviously, the training made necessary by present-day conditions cannot be met by the old methods. The ultimate goal is possible
only through two means: State supported and controlled schools for
police only, and secondly; university cooperation. One of the latest
suggestions is that contained in the report of the Subcommittee of
the Police Council, London, England, dated March 4, 1930. Among
PQLICE REPORT
721
other conclusions reached is the following: "The police 'ollege shduld
provide a resident two-year course to consist of two parts, occupying
roughly a year each. Part 1 would include police subjects of general application and other studies bearing on the work of police,
while part 2 would include more technical and specialized police
subjects and a period of travel for the comparative study of police
organization at home and/or abroad."
The University of Chicago, University of Tennessee, Northwestern University, University of Southern California and the University of California are offering some form of courses helpful in
training policemen. In addition to these courses there is a very
highly specialized program offered at the Junior College located at
San Jose, California. At this college two years' work is offered to
students who are preparing to enter police service. Necessity has
demanded -the application of science to police work. Colleges, universities and police departments are recognizing that necessity. Only
in this manner can the police ever hope to successfully cope with the
crime situation.
Communication Systems and Equipment.
To serve the community effectively the policeman must be fully
equipped with the tools of his profession. The police have been compelled to fight criminals without the aid of modem and necessary
devices and appliances.
First in importance are means by which the police force is able
to act in unison. This lies in the use of modern signalling systems.
Only with such a system can the chief keep in touch with the men;
only then can the isolated patrolman contact the police station. Without some means which will enable both parties to communicate, the
entire force is paralyzed. Speed is essential' in these days of rapid
transportation and a minute or even a few seconds lost may give
the professional crook a half mile start in his dash for freedom.
With the advent of the radio-equipped police car a new era has
come. Districts of many square miles, which formerly were officially
watched by foot patrolmen are now covered by the roving'patrol carfast and efficient. The radio and automobile in police work has assured a brilliant future.
Records.
Every police department of any considerable size should maintain a centralized records bureau with a responsible, competent officer
AUGUST VOLLMER
at its head. This officer should have the power to command reports
from the heads of all units of the department so that he may not
be thwarted in his efforts to secure all of the facts which are required in the conduct of his office. The organization of the division
should be simple and yet be required to perform a complete and
satisfactory service.
There has been an almost total absence of honest, complete,
periodic and comparable reports of offenses, persons charged and dispositions until very recently. The status of police records at present
leaves much to be desired. Primary information on which good
police work must be predicated is often lacking in full or in part.
Complaints as related to the occurrence of crime are generally lightly
regarded and the attempts are quite uniformly ignored. Arrest
records are reasonably well preserved, but that information is seldom
used to the best advantage. Investigations are too frequently poorly
reported in writing, if at all, and the results of prosecution little
known. Records as a general rule are highly decentralized and lack
organization in a striking degree. This results in information being
either unavailable or else obtainable only after much delay. A high
degree of administrative control -is necessarily wanting when the
records are poorly organized and where much important information
is unrecorded or in a confused or complicated condition. Summarized routine reports cannot be manufactured out of whole cloth,
and in their absence the police executives cannot visualize the full
needs and work of the field units.
Crime Prevention.
No city can afford to be without a unit which will devote its
whole time to Crime Prevention. Such a unit must receive official
recognition in large enough measure to command respect from the
members of the force and other community agencies. The workers
must be scientifically trained for the task. No element of political
influence should ever enter into their selection and a definite professional standard should be maintained. The crime prevention unit,
by reason of its position in the city government, might initiate farreaching plans for crime prevention through the medium of the school
system. Such work, while in the nature of pre-delinquency activities,
might in the long run be of broader value than any actual palliatives.
Police Service and the State.
The multitude of police forces in any state and the varying
standards of organization and service have contributed immeasurably
POLICE REPORT
723
to the general low grade of police performance in this country. The
independence which police forces display toward each other and the
absence of any central force which requires either a uniform or a
minimum standard of service leave the way open for the profitable
operation of criminals in an area where protection is often ineffectual
at the best, generally only partial, and too frequently wholly absent.
Vast areas are without the pretense of any sort of a patrol at any
time. Bruce Smith, in the "State Police" says-"If protection is to
be given a rural district we cannot rely upon the sheriff-constable
system to supply it. They have neither the training or the necessary
men. Authority must rest in a single responsible head."
Criminals may reside inoffensively in one section where the police
are efficient and operate against society in a nearby .community where
the police system is less effective. Professional criminals know no
political boundaries and are not disturbed by their existence. In
fact, they frequently take advantage of them for their own security,
while the officers of the law are hampered by these same boundaries.
No central agency is established, in many states, which is empowered to collect crime statistics. The number of individual bureaus, departments and institutions in a state which may deal with
criminals or possess information about them is legion. In the ordinary course of events these agencies have few contacts with other
law enforcement bodies, particularly if in remote sections, and their
fund of information is not pooled for the common good. Where
there are state bureaus in operation they have proved themselves of
great value as clearing houses for information on crime and criminals.
The most complete institution of this kind is at Sacramento,
California, where provision is made for collection of records of crime
and criminals from all persons or units handling such records. No
state in this nation and in this age of rapid transportation and shrewd
criminals can afford to be without the services of a central bureau
of identification and investigation.
The state bureau may be the hub of the communications system
for the state. Mail, messenger, telegraph, telephone, teletype and
radio may be employed to bring all of the available information to
this clearing house. With these means the progress and direction
of criminals may frequently be made the subject of warnings to police
agencies throughout the state, and to those sections in particular
which lie in the path of the criminal's progress.